Throughout the past 20 years, I have lost friends to this drug. Beautiful, intelligent, even college-educated friends. I make the point of educated because so many people are under the misconception that only stupid, 'low-life' people ever use meth- and that's just not true.
My friend Stephanie had everything going for her, and started doing meth to "help keep her weight down". When she started doing it, the 'Meth Awareness' campaign had yet to begin, and I don't think she even knew it as 'meth'- she only knew it was 'speed'. She was never arrested. She didn't have sores on her face. She was thin and beautiful, and she had been doing it for years. She still had a great career, and made lots of money. She actually almost convinced me to give it a try- but then she died from her meth use- had a massive coronary at the age of 36.
This past December, I decided to look up an old friend- (some of you may have read the thread I started about him)- named Marty. It turns out I was a bit late in trying to contact him, as he was sitting in jail awaiting trial for double homicide. He admitted to killing 2 men in a meth drug-deal-gone-bad, while under the influence of meth. He says he killed them in self-defense. He had shot the men 8 times each, and buried their bodies in a shallow grave, under a shed on his property. Their decomposing bodies were found 3 weeks later, by cadaver dogs. My friend, from all those years ago, could never have done something like that. But, meth could.
Above, I told of my first, and then latest, experiences with people I knew who were into meth. But they were not the only ones. Before meth, they were kind, loving, fun intelligent, wonderful people and friends.
Meth, in my opinion, is an evil drug. I don't believe that the people who use it are evil- that's not what I'm saying. What I mean is there is something about this particular drug, that empties the soul if given the chance. It robs. It steals children from parents, and it will steal parents from children. It is an 'equal opportunity destroyer'.
I think that anyone who tries it probably tells themselves they will just try it once, to see what it's like. Or just use it for a little bit, to help them lose weight. Nobody who tries it believes that they will get addicted to it by just trying it once. They underestimate meth's power.
Sometimes people even try it once, and think, "hey- I tried it, and I'm not addicted", so they do it again, and again. Because they don't feel addicted. So, they become addicted.
Meth does give the user a feeling of euphoria. Of course it does- what else would the initial draw be? It makes you feel good. It makes you feel that everything is finally alright. You can do anything. It makes you feel that everything will always be alright and wonderful- as long as you can just keep feeling this way.
And then it rips your soul out, just like a pitbull to the throat. Meth is an evil drug, in my opinion, sent up from the bowels of Hell.
Meth addicts need intensive treatment- not prison- the first time they are arrested.
Spend the money that would be spent on incarceration on preventive education first, and intensive long-term treatment. Then prison, if necessary.
But let's try to get these addicts some real help first, instead of shoving them into over-crowded prisons where they will get out without any treatment, and pick up where they left off.
:scream::cry:
